I had to deal with State Farm Insurance, and my story is not as pleasant an outcome as yours. I was in travel for work, and had gone out to dinner with a co-worker, and we were returning to the hotel, with me as a passenger in the vehicle. An 18 year old kid blew a stop sign, and we T-boned him. Clearly, he was at fault, and was cited by the cops for it. I broke my arm, wrist, and had a few other bumps and bruises. I had to take two weeks off from work, as they wouldn’t allow me to work, initially, but I was able to show them I could do my job, so they let me come back after two weeks. I took vacation time, for my two weeks off. I spoke with a lawyer, who advised me not to seek workmen’s comp, and instead, go through the kids insurance company, which was State Farm.
They offered to pay my medical bills, and nothing more, and told me I had to sue if I wanted anything other than medical bills. I sued, and had to travel back to the state of the accident, at my cost. They went into court, and claimed that the kids brakes failed, and that it was an unforseen hazard, and under that state’s law, he could be found not responsible, if it was true. My lawyer got the kid on the stand, and asked him if he ever had any problems with the brakes, and he said he had, ever since he had bought the truck a month prior to the accident. He said the rear brakes weren’t working. Needless to say, the judge found them responsible, and gave me 4 times my medical bills. After my medical bills, and the lawyers fee, I ended up with my medical bills, travel costs, and getting paid for my vacation with a surplus of $200.00. State Farm could have avoided it all by compensating me for my costs, and throw in an extra few hundred and I would have accepted it. State Farm at the time was my insurance agent, but obviously, they also lost a customer for life.
State Farm is the worst. They are the only company that argues the cost of repair. They want to use cheap Chinese parts, pay less than book time etc. I fight the sorry agents over any estimate.
Ugh.
Guess it comes down to your local agent. Sigh.
For any Freepers in Ohio, look up Phil Breakey at State Farm.
/Disclaimer: I don’t get paid any ref fee. In fact, we came to blows back in the day when we were kids. But he is solid...